Besides writing, how do you support the publishing industry?

I buy new books. That’s one of the best things a person can do to support the publishing industry. I buy used books as well. (I’ll buy books anywhere!) But as an author, I know how important it is to buy books new. If I love an author, I make sure to show it by purchasing his or her books.

Once upon a time I reviewed books as well. I reviewed hundreds of books back when I was Novel Teen Book Reviews. Reviews are the third best way you can support your favorite authors next to buying their books new and telling your friends about those books. I don’t do as many reviews these days because I haven’t been able to read as much and because it can be tricky to review books when you’re an author and you start meeting these people at conferences or conventions. (Awkward.) Because of such moments, a few years back I adopted the mantra “If you can’t say anything nice in your review, don’t write a review.” I know how it feels to get negative, hurtful book reviews, and I don’t want to do that to another author.

Some other ways I support the industry is to shop for books at places other than Amazon.com. I well understand how convenient it is to buy everything from Amazon, but a healthy market is important to this industry. So I have a Barnes and Noble membership, and I buy as many new books from them as I can, online or at a store. I also try to buy books from indie bookstores whenever possible.

Also, checking out books at my local library helps the publishing industry. If the library doesn’t have the book, I request an inner-library loan or outright ask the library to order it. Three times now I’ve requested an inner-library loan and the library responded to say they decided to order a copy of the book. It’s so helpful for authors when libraries order their books! And I’m always super excited when my library orders something I requested.

I make a concerted effort here. One of the things I do is work to be encouraging even when I’m having a hard day. When I’m dealing with rejection or a particularly hard edit, I remind myself that it’s a good day for someone. A day where I get to congratulate them and take part in their joy. This takes practice, you guys. The tendency is to be jealous or bitter that it’s not YOUR DAY. But work to choose joy. It might feel awkward the first time. Might even feel forced, but that just means you’re choosing to act despite discomfort and, honestly, that’s brave. It will change your life. It will change your writing. It will change how you cope with the hard stuff. And everyone deals with hard stuff. Everyone.